GATE: In the Company of Shadows

by Krueger-X

The JSDF handled the opening of the gate well, but what they don't know is that another gate has opened within the Special Region. On the opposite side? A multinational tier one private military company. Will Japan be able to share this new resource rich fantasy world with a group of shady mercenaries or will rising political tensions cause them to reach their breaking point?

16. Deadlocked Disengagements

Pre Author's Notes: Might be going back and updating some of the earlier chapters to match my current formatting and writing style. Was still figuring it out back then, but now I think I've got a pretty solid grasp on it. I apologize if you get some update notifications in the near future, but I'd ignore those unless it's a new chapter.

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Gate: In the Company of Shadows

Chapter 16

Deadlocked Disengagements

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PHILLIP GRAVES - SHADOW CO, THIRD RECON JSDF

GINZA DISTRICT, TOKYO, JAPAN

NOVEMBER 10, 2022 - 13:40:00

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Graves inspected the polymer magazine of the MK16, or the FN SCAR-L, that he had in his hands. The brass of the casings and the copper color of the bullet's shined underneath the sun that broke through the windows of the van, contrasting against the matte black of the mag. The mag also had a tiny clear window on the side of it, allowing him to see the rest of the rounds inside, waiting for the opportunity to be fired.

Thirty rounds that wanted to leave the barrel of his rifle and turn somebody's lights off…

He inserted the mag, locking it into place with a solid click before thumbing the bolt release and letting the charge handle lock forward. Afterwards, he tilted the gun as he pulled the charging handle back a bit, allowing him to inspect the interior of the rifle.

Twenty nine in the mag, one in the chamber.

If things went according to plan, he wouldn't have to fire a single shot at all today. But like always, he was planning for the worst and hoping for the best.

The presence of Blackwater mercenaries was a good case in point.

Gaining the attention of the Pentagon, Blackwater was one of dozens of PMCs hired alongside Shadow Company to operate in Iraq, during the Second Persian Gulf War. Blackwater, a very infamous band of killers under the title of private military contractors. To be fair, his Shadow Company was also just that. But where Shadow Company differed from Blackwater was in their professionalism.

Four Blackwater employees were convicted in a U.S. federal court, seven years after the Nisour Square massacre originally took place. Now, Graves didn't know if those firm fixed price contractors were truly guilty or not, but that didn't really matter. The media wouldn't care to see it as anything else. Seventeen Iraqis were dead, and fourteen more were injured. In his world's eyes, the contractors were the bad guys compared to the honorable boots that were deployed in desert camo uniforms. As if that was any better somehow.

They were all controversial people involved in a controversial war. Graves just wisely chose to stay out of the public eye… as usual.

Regardless, Blackwater's reputation had been tarnished, becoming a household name at the time. It was extremely difficult to bounce back after such attention was drawn to the scandal, and because of that, Blackwater had to completely rebrand to even have a fighting chance at continuing business. This, of course, was very good news for Graves, as competition was removed, and the government had to find a replacement.

The American bald eagle that held thirteen arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other, eventually put him and his company in their sights.

Nothing more patriotic than supporting American owned businesses, right?

Of course the U.S. wasn't going to stop hiring private militaries after. In fact, Graves would even go so far as to say that the incident spurred the rest of the world into using even more contractors; throwing them into a new era of modern warfare.

An era fueled by proxy wars and funded by blood money. One which Blackwater wouldn't be able to fully take advantage of.

Except in this world…

Apparently the Blackwater name was still going strong here… for some reason.

But the how and why didn't concern him. No, his concern was on what could be done to make them stay out of his way. Competition wasn't good for business when that same competition was actively seeking to take him down. As much as he hated even entertaining the idea, he'd have to rely on the Japanese here for a while. Them and their tight security at this world's gate were his only buffers against the forces of this world.

Graves shook his head, ridding himself of his internal conflict for the moment.

He gave a small hum of approval to himself, before unfolding the stock of his rifle and adjusting it to a position that he was comfortable with. From the corner of his vision, he could see Risa looking glancing down at the weapon nervously from his right, while Sergeant Kuribayashi looked at it with obvious envy from his left. He smiled to himself in amusement, before quickly shifting that smile to a more friendlier tone. He couldn't help it though. Watching others squirm and fidget from his presence was always fun.

"Relax, it's just a precaution," He offered to the civilian in the seat next to him. "In case anything happens out there."

Risa gulped nervously as she turned back to her phone, obviously not quite assured by his words. He couldn't blame her though. He took precautions back at the hot springs resort, and that situation still turned out to be… suboptimal. "Graves, with all due respect, people don't usually go parading around the streets of Japan with guns."

Like he didn't know that. It wasn't anything new to him though. The man had traversed through nearly every place imaginable throughout his contracting career. From the marble tiled private penthouses of wealthy clients in silk lined suits, to the dirty slums and village streets run by the local freedom fighters of the region. He knew walking around in full kit was going to turn heads, doubly so, since he had just recently made a reputation for himself as the most politically polarizing figure in this world. And on live national television, no less.

The point was, people were going to stare…

The local populace stared in fear, unsure as to why heavily armed contractors were operating in their area, and if they'd be harmed by them in anyway. The local militaries stared in resentment, wanting to carry out the work they did and get the same pay as them. And the media stared in intrigue, no doubt wanting to scoop up a sensational story that would stir the pot. No matter their reasons, Graves had the same response as always.

Let them stare.

He had grown accustomed to it after so many years, and at the end of the day, it was just business. The public never understood that, and they never would. That didn't mean he couldn't have some fun while working though.

"Yeah? Well Japan doesn't usually have goddesses, mages, or elves roaming around their streets either now, do they?" He asked, raising a single brow up at her. "Besides, Japan's open carry back in my world. Everyone has a gun on 'em. Is that not the case here?"

"Seriously?" Kuribayashi asked in astonishment.

Graves slowly turned to her with the most deadpan expression he could muster up. "No."

Kuribayashi stared at him, completely stupefied for a few seconds. After realizing that she had been properly fooled, she pouted, crossing her arms while turning her gaze back to the window on her left.

The van fell into silence once more as everyone kept to themselves. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence by any means, because nobody wished to break it as they focused on the task at hand. The air inside the van was thick, heavy with tension and anticipation. All eyes remained fixated on the busy road ahead, as the lanes had been covered up by car after car. Muffled horns were heard outside as impatient drivers honked, thinking that the lines would somehow move faster with more noise.

Tomita let his head fall at the front, resting it against the wheel as he gave an exasperated sigh. "It looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while, people…" He said, before leaning back in the seat.

Graves clicked his tongue in response. "I haven't seen traffic this bad since the last time I was in LA..." He muttered.

"Yeah," Risa agreed nervously. From what he could see on her screen, the woman had opened up whatever this world's most popular social media app was, before thumbing the trending tab. She briefly scrolled through many different posts, ranging from updates by news outlets, to selfies of those currently in attendance. "I uh… wasn't actually expecting to garner a crowd quite this big."

Kuribayashi looked at the groups of people that walked through the lines of stopped traffic; it looked like the streets were abuzz with anticipation. "We're not making any progress just sitting here," She said, glancing over at Itami, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. "We've gotta do something soon, or else we'll be late and miss out on the chance to use the crowd's numbers to our advantage."

Graves looked out the window past Kuribayashi, frowning as he saw how many people were waiting for them. There were countless visitors, hundreds of them, maybe even at least a thousand, gathered outside various buildings, subway stations, and shops. All of them came prepared, holding cameras and excitedly checking their phones. A few blocks away, an even bigger crowd had formed behind a police line that blocked off access to the street entrance, with many more being set up on the sidewalks. They had even begun marching teams into formation, dressed in fully padded gear, complete with face protection and riot shields. Graves even saw a couple of shotguns amongst the sea of blue, though the grips were colored a bright orange, meaning that they were more than likely loaded with less-lethal bean bags.

An officer could be seen conversing with a Japanese soldier, both attempting to figure out the reasoning behind the crowd's rather abrupt gathering. At least they had more security in case things went wrong.

"We're getting nowhere just sitting around." Graves reminded. "What's the move here, Itami?"

Itami looked back at the contractor, before turning his gaze back toward the window. He seemed conflicted for a moment, before taking a deep breath. "Well…" He began hesitantly. "We can't exactly pull over and park anywhere closer to the gate. So it looks like we're gonna have to just walk it."

"Are you sure about that, sir?" Tomita asked. "The moment we leave the vehicles, we'll be drawing everyone's attention, long before we even come close to the checkpoint."

"As long as we keep moving forward, there shouldn't be any problems. Or, less problems…" He paused for a second, seemingly conflicted about something before turning to Graves. "Just… try not to do anything risky with your men, Graves. Like shooting someone. Please…?"

Graves shook his head as he let out a small chuckle in response. It was a little absurd that the Lieutenant even felt the need to ask him not to do something so drastic, but then again, Itami really only knew him on a surface level. As a contractor looking to make good profit in any way possible, no matter what. Which, now that Graves really thought about it, was all Itami really needed to know about him, wasn't it?

Regardless, he wasn't some bloodthirsty psycho that just killed for the hell of it. He was a professional. In the end, Graves simply nodded, ignoring the skeptical glance that Kuribayashi sent him from the side. "Don't worry Itami. This ain't my first rodeo, and my Shadows aren't careless idiots with low day rates either. We've dealt with the public and the media before."

Of course, there was a double meaning to that statement. But the Japanese didn't need to be told about that. Graves was betting that their escorts already suspected such things, probably figuring it out from his recent actions the past week, but were being too polite to just outright accuse him. Not in front of his face and his Shadows anyway…

Kuribayashi huffed, obviously annoyed. "Just don't try pulling any funny shit when we're out there," She warned. "The gate has good security and you'll be outnumbered. You and your people won't stand a chance against so many guns."

Yeah, and neither will the crowd. Graves mused internally, rolling his eyes at the warning. Even if they were to do anything, it'd be foolish to fire weapons around a group so large, especially one made up of inexperienced civilians who wouldn't know how to react to a gunfight in the streets.

Graves gave a brief glance down at the watch on his wrist, seeing that the time was getting close, before he reached for the radio on his vest. "All Shadows, we're nearing our window, and these vehicles ain't goin' anywhere. I'm afraid we're gonna have to hoof it from here on out. Y'all ready to go?"

"Jawohl, Sentinel's ready."

"Carnival, ready to rock."

"Bishop, good to go."

Graves nodded to himself in satisfaction, before turning to Itami. "Alright Lieutenant, my Shadows are ready to move if the rest of y'all are."

Itami opened his mouth to respond, before the demigoddess in the seat behind him spoke up, cutting him off. "Well in that case…" Rory said, before she pulled open the door of the van and stepped out.

"Wha- Rory, what the heck are you doing?!"

"What does it look like, Itami? I'm moving..." She responded playfully, before sucking in a deep breath of fresh air. No longer restricted by the van's interior, she gave a big stretch, followed by a content sigh. "Ah, that's so much better. I'll never understand how people can be so used to being cramped up in these cars like that. And besides, Graves said his people were ready, did he not?"

"Well yeah, but that's not the point!" He said in a panic. "We need to actually form some sort of plan besides just walking through and hoping for the best! We don't know who could be in that crowd."

"Awww, you're concerned for me?" She cooed teasingly with a smirk.

"Only because it's my ass that's gonna get grilled if anything happens to you!"

She kept the easy expression on her face as she effortlessly twirled her halberd in one hand. "Uh-huh… did you happen to forget what I did to the bandits back at Italica and most of the enemy soldiers at the hot springs?" She reminded him. "I can hold my own Itami. I doubt that a crowd of curious onlookers would be able to do much against me."

And without another word, she turned on her heels, stepping away from the van and making her way towards the waiting crowds. Itami's pleas for her to come back were ignored as she paid him no mind, casually stepping onto the sidewalk and approaching a man on his phone. She appeared to have asked him something, garnering his attention as he glanced up, before realizing who was in front of him as he suddenly dropped his phone in shock.

Itami groaned, running a hand down his face. "Ugh… that girl is impossible." He said, before looking up towards the rear view mirror and meeting Graves' eyes. "Maybe it'd be better to call this off and head back to Risa's place." He suggested.

Graves simply raised an eyebrow in response, before shaking his head slightly. "No Itami, my business here in Japan is done. We can't afford to stay here any longer. Besides, it's a bit too late to back out now." He answered, looking back at the scene on the sidewalk.

The crowd that was gathered around Rory suddenly parted, giving her a wide berth as word quickly began spreading, and people began holding up their phones to try and get a good angle of her. The man she spoke to appeared to shake himself out of his shock, getting rid of his dumbfounded stare, before stammering out in response. Afterwards, she made sure to give the man a brief wink, earning a startled squeak from him as she finally made her way past.

Graves could see Itami cringing, likely realizing that Rory was beginning to draw everyone's attention to her. There was still a lot of confusion as to what exactly was going on, and as far as he could tell, the crowd was only going to keep growing larger and larger. There was no telling what might happen once everyone in the area realized and had their eyes on them.

Itami sighed deeply, knowing full well that they wouldn't accomplish anything if they just stayed in the van and sat idly by, losing their opportunity. "Ah, I guess there's really no choice now, huh?"

"Not really," Graves answered simply as he began unbuckling his seat belt. "C'mon, we're on a small timeframe here, people. Folks are expectin' a show. Let's give 'em one."

Kuribayashi simply grunted in agreement, before pulling the charging handle to inspect the chamber of MP7 one last time, and concealing it under her coat. An act which was somewhat pointless, considering the fact that Graves and his men were going to walk out in full kit. She unbuckled herself from her seat, sliding the passenger door on her side open, before wordlessly stepping out of the vehicle. Graves followed shortly after, along with the rest of their party not far behind. He looked to his left as he stepped out onto the road, his eyes meeting the Shadow behind the wheel of the second van.

Graves gestured to the sidewalk with his head as he reached for his radio. "All Shadows, we're moving out. Ditch the vehicles."

"Copy." Came the curt reply over the comms.

There was barely any delay for his order to be taken into effect; soon enough, the van's doors slid open to reveal the other Shadows as they began dismounting, their movements fluid and practiced in an effort to make the process as quick as possible. Within seconds, they were all standing out in the open, with the afternoon sun shining brightly overhead. The heat radiating from the light was a welcome change compared to the colder autumn temperatures from earlier that night. As each of them began to move to Rory, Graves made note of who was in attendance. All in all, it seemed like almost everyone out today was a civilian. But while they may have appeared to be unarmed, he didn't dare take any chances by being lax now. They'd be surrounded in unfamiliar territory once the crowd realized who was protecting their VIPs. A scenario which wasn't all too unfamiliar in his line of work.

Graves glanced behind him, seeing that Itami was trying to reassure a panicking Risa as they started to leave her behind. Before he knew it, she was grabbing onto the sleeve of his coat, tugging on it desperately. "Itami! Come back! Where are you going?!" She demanded.

He shook his arm free lightly. "Sorry," He apologized softly, offering a sympathetic smile. "I've gotta help these people get back to the Special Region. I can't stay here forever."

He watched as she swallowed heavily, seemingly fighting herself as she thought about it for a moment, before her shoulders slumped with defeat. "You'll be back… right?" She asked hesitantly.

"Lieutenant, we don't have the time for this!" Graves growled out irritably.

"Come on, just give me a sec, Graves," Itami pleaded. "Please…?"

The contractor paused briefly, and after a few seconds, merely inclined his head with a frustrated huff, allowing the Japanese man to finish saying his goodbyes. He frowned lightly at the sight, before looking forward again.

"Let's go." He said to Tomita and Kuribayashi, who merely glanced at him in response. It was clear that Kuribayashi still didn't want to listen to him, but Tomita didn't hold any of her same grudges, and nodded for him to go ahead. The rest of the group followed as Graves slowly began leading the way to Rory, with the rest of his Shadows nearby.

Once they had made it to the sidewalk, they began to walk briskly, keeping a steady pace as their shoes pounded against the pavement. As expected, they were met with little resistance as they began passing civilians along the sidewalk, the civilians themselves not noticing at first; all too busy training their gazes on the confident demigoddess, who held a bouquet of peaceful white flowers in one hand, and an ax of war in the other. But after a few minutes, they started to become more and more aware of the rest of the group, and slowly, the crowd's attention shifted as they began giving them curious looks and not so quiet murmurs.

One of the civilians eventually caught sight of him, and pointed in his direction. "Hey, look! It's the American from the news!"

"Isn't he that mercenary that attended the Diet meeting earlier this week?" Asked another.

"They must be here to protect the guests from the Special Region that are with them."

Before long, they began to recognize Graves and the other Special Region inhabitants. Itami jogged up to them, catching up, before coming to a stop beside Graves.

"Itami?" Graves suddenly asked.

"Yeah?"

He gave him a brief look of acknowledgement before eyeing the rest of the crowd around them. "Have your people been trained in protective service detail?"

"Well I was trained on it briefly during the Ranger Courses-"

"Yes, but your subordinates haven't," He quickly reminded, cutting him off. He turned to the other two JSDF soldiers nearby. "We're workin' off of standard operating procedures here, folks. Keep the crowd away. Anyone tries anything, use your best judgment and ask yourself if it's truly something worth pulling the trigger over."

Kuribayashi scoffed nearby. "Are you sure that you're the best person to be telling us that?"

At the remark, Graves narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm sorry, who's the one in charge of the company that constantly gets hired by the U.S. Department of Defense here?" Graves shot back, causing her to roll her eyes up at him. "Maintaining a proper image is part of playing the game here. You don't want to fuel the public's opinion of distrust in the JSDF by shooting people on live TV, do you?"

After a moment passed, she let out a soft huff, turning her gaze forward. "I suppose not," She replied, sounding mildly annoyed as she crossed her arms across her chest once more.

With that settled, Graves turned his attention back towards the crowd in front of them. A silence fell amongst the group after the conversation ended. The air around them remained abuzz with awe as they made their way down the street, and the crowd around them immediately parted to the side like Moses and the Red Sea, with police officers scattered periodically throughout to ensure that everyone remained a safe distance away.

Princess Pina flinched at the odd flash photography, doing her best to blink the spots out of her eyes. She hugged the bouquet of flowers closer to her jacket that she wore over her dress, being careful not to squish it against her chest as she eyed the crowd in anxiousness. "These bright flashes are a little disorientating…" She quietly complained, gaining Graves' attention.

"They're just getting pictures for the history books." Graves said coolly. "After all, this is a pretty historical event for them."

She swallowed nervously at his words. "I could tell. This is quite the crowd of people compared to the last time we were here. And to have all amassed in front of the gate in such a short amount of time…" She trailed off, before looking him directly in the eyes. "We're not being invaded, are we?"

Technically you already have… Graves thought to himself. Of course, he wasn't going to tell her that directly to her face. Not unless he wanted to cause her any undue panic. He shook his head after a moment.

"No, these are all curious onlookers, not soldiers." Graves assured, glancing over at her. "If anything, they're more nervous of us than you are of them. Trust me, if things go sour, you and your people will be just fine."

The princess smiled faintly at him, returning a small gesture of gratitude, but continued to watch the crowd apprehensively anyway. No matter, they were nearing their destination, so her unease caused by the crowd would eventually dissipate once they entered the gate.

As they got closer to the gate, Graves was finally able to see the fabled Ginza memorial of this world. It appeared to be a long altar table with many, many, flowers stacked in a row on top of the white tablecloth, which sat underneath a tent. That must have been the memorial, and judging by the amount of flowers lined up, the losses Japan suffered must have been quite high.

No surprise there…

Japanese police officers were really nothing more than glorified crossing guards back in his world, often only armed with low caliber revolvers and no long gun in the trunk of their patrol car. After all, a country like Japan with their laws wouldn't have to worry about their officers getting shot in the line of duty during a routine traffic stop. Unfortunately, because they were under equipped, it meant they were unprepared.

Well… more unprepared than usual. No one could have prepared for ancient Romans to invade their world.

Now in terms of memorials, it was definitely one of the more tamer ones that Graves had seen throughout his life. Not quite as stand out compared to something like a statue or a wall of names, but to be fair, the ones he had seen were usually meant to commemorate tens of thousands of people after so many years. With the Empire's invasion on the streets of Japan still being relatively fresh, they were probably still planning on constructing a more permanent one, while the table was there so that the grieving could still have something to help them remember.

Graves could see many of the present media such as journalists, news crews, and photographers focusing their cameras on the memorial, making sure to get the victims' families dressed in black and the dome covering the gate nearby in the same shot.

It appeared that Risa's plan worked well. Almost too well…

They had garnered the reaction they had wanted. People had talked online, spreading the word quickly on forums and chat rooms. Of course, the hectic craze online was bound to get the attention of news outlets everywhere as well, and of course, they'd send out their own reporters to properly represent their biased agendas.

That was good, as that meant that the group had more eyes on them, and it'd be impossible for anyone to do something to them without breaking secrecy. But it was also bad, because Graves had more eyes on him. Eyes belonging to nosy individuals that wanted to pounce upon him and snap some photos for the tabloids to write clickbait, gossip, news articles using his face. Like the reporter that Kuribayashi was currently raising her fists at.

Wait...

"Ah, Jesus Christ…" Graves muttered in exasperation, turning around to see the nervous woman flinch back in fear. He looked towards the rest of his Shadows, gesturing with his thumb towards the altar nearby. "Keep going, we'll catch up."

"Yes, Commander." Said one of them, as they nodded in unison before walking further ahead and moving past the crowd of onlookers.

Graves stared after them for a moment, before returning his attention back to the small commotion. The reporter seemed to be taking a deep breath to calm herself, and Kuribayashi was now more relaxed as he walked over to them.

Graves cleared his throat as he came to a halt beside them. "What seems to be the problem here, folks?" He asked, looking between the two.

"Uh-"

"Your security detail nearly knocked our reporter's lights out," Said the camera woman, interrupting Kuribayashi, before muttering, "Would have been one helluva story too…"

"She was gettin' too close!" Kuribayashi retorted back with a glare. After a second or two, her expression softened as she turned to Graves. "Anyways, Graves, this is my little sister, Nanami."

"G-Good morning…" She offered with a meek little wave.

"Yeah, yeah, konnichiwa," He replied lazily, waving off her greeting with disinterest. He glanced between the two sisters, noticing the similarities between the two. Same hair color, same eye color, same… well endowed bust size.

Must run in the family or something…

Of course, the only major differences that Graves was able to spot was the hairstyle and clothing. The woman had let her longer hair down and she wore a pink coat over a simple white sweater. Very female and newscaster esque, especially judging by how tightly she held the mic in her hand. A rather far cry from the more tomboyish and outgoing attitude her sister pranced around with.

He flashed her an insincere smile, holding his hand out to shake hers. "Phillip Graves."

She hesitated for a moment, looking awkwardly down at the gloved hand before taking hold of it gently. "Nanami Kuribayashi," She replied softly. "N-Nice to meet you…"

"Likewise…" He responded, giving her hand a firm shake before letting go and crossing his arms. "So, how can we help you?" He questioned, keeping the casual tone of his voice as he looked at the two siblings.

At the question, Shino glanced at her younger sister. "Yeah Nanami, what are you doing here? I wasn't expecting to see you at all this week, much less today."

"I'm… I'm like a reporter for TV and stuff. W-Well, a rookie reporter, actually. At least, that's what my colleagues call me…" She flinched as the camera woman loudly cleared her throat behind her, purposefully reminding her that she was still at work. "O-Oh! R-right… Do you think I could maybe, like… get an interview with the others, or something?" She stammered nervously.

"No can do." Graves replied flatly. "We've gotta head back to the Special Region as soon as possible."

She visibly deflated from his answer for a second, before looking back up at him in confusion. "W-Wait… what? Why?"

Graves hummed for a moment, scratching the side of his chin as he thought about how much information he should really divulge. After all, the camera behind her was most definitely rolling on them, just waiting to catch a spicy story. Now, he doubted that the woman would protest much if he just said that it was classified; the talk would be done and over with the moment he refused to open up. But… he figured he'd play along with her for now. If there were consequences from this later, well… then he'd worry about them later.

"The group's been targeted ever since we came here…" He paused to let his words hang in the air for a second as he watched her nod along, obviously waiting for him to continue. "Our bus was tailed, our train was stopped, and our hotel was burned to the ground. We had a nasty run in with some less than stellar folk last night at the hot springs resort near Hakone. Some Russians, some Chinese, some British, and even some Americans. In fact, I daresay that they're even targeting us right now…"

Nanami blinked, her eyes widening slightly. "N-Now?" She asked timidly. "Like, right here now…?"

Graves made a show of looking left and right, as if to catch someone attempting to run up on them. "Yeah, which is why we can't afford to stay here any longer than necessary. It's too risky for us, and it's even riskier for the crowd in attendance too."

"Excuse me! Commander Graves!" Shouted a voice nearby, causing Nanami to jump at the sudden interruption. Graves glanced over at the speaker, who was squeezing through the crowd and waving her arms frantically in order to get his attention. A woman dressed in blue skinny jeans with an open black blazer over a purple button up shirt. Judging by her blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect English with no discernible accent, Graves assumed that he was being approached by an American reporter of some sort. Given the fact that she was approaching him solo, he didn't doubt that she was a journalist of some sort, hoping to get a good scoop off of the sheer amount of attention that he was receiving this past week alone.

"Yes…?" Graves inquired, already knowing exactly where this next conversation would go.

"Lila Lange, sorry for bothering you," She said quickly, in a tone clearly meaning that she was not at all sorry. "But I was hoping to get a few words from you, if you don't mind?"

"I do in fact mind," He said irritably, hoping that his frustration was evident in his voice. "I have no comment."

"Ah, but Commander Graves, refusing to answer my questions might give the impression that you've been keeping very important information hidden from the public…"

Ah, so that's who he was truly dealing with. Some two-bit, muckraking, investigative journalist, trying to dig up dirt and sniff out a scandal for an attention grabbing exposé that would surely get under his skin. That was certainly one way to make your name known as a media mogul. And Graves absolutely despised the type. Not because he cared if his name was possibly tarnished and dragged through the mud, but because if they found anything useful, they'd risk sending the company under and stopping operations completely.

"I am…" Graves confirmed carefully. "It's called OPSEC, something very vital to military operations."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Commander… I'm not asking you to spill government secrets to me, though I wouldn't mind if you did…" She joked, to which he only offered a deadpan gaze. The air hung quietly for a few seconds, the Kuribayashi siblings having already separated and leaving them alone. Lila coughed awkwardly into her fist, hoping to move on. "Right… just a few words would suffice."

"Really? Just a few words?" He asked, before gesturing with his hand for her to come closer. She complied, leaning closer as Graves spoke quietly for her ears only. "I'd advise you against asking any further questions, Ms. Lange. Because the last journalist that attempted to investigate my company ended up quietly disappearing off the face of the earth…"

When Graves pulled back, he expected a look of shock, fear, or nervousness to grace her features. After all, he was the Commander of a private military that had just told a journalist he could make her disappear easily. Anyone would usually react pretty negatively to that.

Instead, what he got was an unimpressed stare, and a bored sigh. "Believe or not, Commander, but being quietly…" Lila trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Warned?" Graves offered.

"Threatened," Lila finished, calling it how it was. "Being threatened into silence is extremely common in this line of work. Well, I suppose it'd be a guarantee in this context, what with you correcting Ambassador Greenhill back at the Diet conference. Thanks for that by the way. It was a very fabulous quote for the headlines."

"No problem…" Graves muttered slowly, before rolling his eyes and letting out a tired sigh. "Alright, fine. You win. I'll humor you and answer some of your stupid questions, but I reserve the right to refuse any."

A victorious grin lit up her face immediately after, before she pulled out a rather old fashioned audio recorder from her pocket, the tiny screen lighting up blue as she hit the record button. It was a good thing that she did, as that meant she hadn't recorded Graves' previous words with her. "Of course! This will all be on record by the way. You know, as proof that I got the word directly from a credible source. That source being you, obviously."

Graves grunted impatiently. "Yes, I know how this works, Ms. Lange… Now, onto the interview, please?" He asked in an expectant tone, hoping to urge her along.

"Sure thing, Commander!" Lila chirped happily. The false smile was a rather pathetically thin veneer for her more malicious intentions, as was to be expected of an investigative journalist. She continued on, taking the lead as she began the interview. "As I'm sure you already know, your organization has recently become embroiled in a rather… precarious… situation, involving international relations between Japan and the rest of the globe. How did such a thing come about?"

A simple question to start with, but Graves knew there was more to it than that.

Graves raised an eyebrow at her curiously, before he began to respond. "Well… to put it simply, the Empire that's currently presiding within the Special Region sent soldiers through a gate and into our world, much like this one. Where exactly is classified, but needless to say, it's caused quite a lot of problems for the folks back at home."

"That's understandable," Agreed Lila with a small nod of her head. "Here, Japanese troops - and only Japanese troops - have obviously been sent through the gate to ensure that the attackers don't return." She snorted, waving her hand dismissively, before continuing. "Many in the international community have questioned their exclusive control over these new lands, stating it to be an immature power projection at best, and a newly resurrected age of Japanese imperialism at worst. Of course, some of these concerns are still very much present, but most of that concern has now shifted over to Shadow Company, especially after your rather shocking reveal at the Diet conference earlier this week. How do you plan on addressing these concerns?"

Graves narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering just how far Lila was willing to push it with her questions. "I'll address them head on," Graves said, glancing back at the altar memorial that the Special Region VIPs were currently kneeled and praying in front of. His Shadows stood guard around the area, their black uniforms a sharp contrast to the white flowers and table cloths. A powerful image for the media, for sure. "Shadow Company has been contracted to ensure that any possible future intrusions from foreign powers were immediately stomped out and dealt with. Our objective is to make sure that the Empire doesn't further spread its influence through its frankly gross and illegal invasion."

Lila gave him a skeptical look. "That's quite an admirable goal that you've set for the company, Commander Graves. Also quite a difficult one, considering that no one is still fully aware of what's truly going on behind the gate itself-"

"What are you implying?" Graves interrupted, cutting her off.

Lila suddenly had a brief smirk on her face, one which was quickly wiped, but still seen nonetheless. "Well isn't it obvious?" She asked rhetorically. "What happens when the public starts to worry about what you and your company are up to when you're left unsupervised in the Special Region?" She challenged. "Some might even go so far as to say that you're taking justice into your own hands, and hiding behind the excuse of foreign policy."

"Hiding behind foreign policy?" Graves asked with a small chuckle. "You wanna talk about foreign policy, speak with a politician, not me. Besides, aren't the United Nations run by the same bitter old folks that have allowed Russian and Chinese mercenaries to continuously operate in the Central African Republic with impunity?"

"As much as I'd like to discuss this topic, we're not here to critique the effectiveness of the world's current standing governments." She reminded. "We're here to talk about the presence of you and your Shadow Company within the Special Region."

Graves let out a small scoff. "Ah, yes of course. My apologies. Let's get back to that…"

Lila didn't hesitate to press on. "As you've stated before back at the Diet, you're not just the Commander of Shadow Company, but also its CEO. The head honcho that calls all the shots. A leader for your men, if you will, both on the field and in the office. That's quite the risky choice, deciding to be out in the line of fire in such a way."

"I don't purposefully seek out trouble, Ms. Lange," Graves responded with a small frown. This woman really wasn't making things easy on him. "I'm just here to make sure that my Shadows get the job done efficiently."

"So you say, Commander, but - and I mean no offense by this - you're looking a little worse for wear right now." She pointed out.

Graves looked back down at the combat uniform he wore, his lips curling up into a small grimace as he noticed that the all black was periodically broken up by stains of muddy brown and bloody red. A far cry from the clean cut look that he presented back at the Diet. In fact, it looked as if the whole uniform would need a very thorough deep cleaning. That, or he'd simply have to requisition another one…

Still, if she noticed something as alarming as that, then he'd need to give out some sort of explanation, lest people start forming rumors that he committed murder in Japan.

"There was an… incident, at the Hakone hot springs resort that we were staying at yesterday night." He admitted with some reluctance.

"An incident?" Lila asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. It was clear that she had noted the location down in her mind as she waited for him to elaborate, clearly expecting more context now that he started.

Now, it was at this point that Graves realized that he had a choice. He could simply tell her that the enemy who attacked him and his Shadows back at the hot springs were enemy contractors from other nations. The problem with that was that there'd be obvious plausible deniability if she attempted to question any figures about a supposed strike, and if she went to Hakone herself, all she would find is a cordoned off resort and a heavy presence of Public Security commencing cleanup.

Nothing would really come of that, and the mercenaries would still be coming after them.

The approach of a nosy journalist that he couldn't shake was a nuisance like it always was.

But… What if it wasn't a nuisance this time? Graves began to see it as something else. As less of a nuisance and more of an opportunity. One that he could capitalize on very well depending on the outcome.

On one hand, Lila Lange appeared to have the talent and determination of your usual young and aspiring activist. On the other hand, she may have been in way over her head choosing to do a story like this. For her, it must have been go big or go home.

Graves was gonna help her go big… but not at the cost of his company.

Graves dug around in one of his various pockets, before fishing out the phone he stole from yesterday night. Looking through the phone of the Blackwater merc he had killed revealed that he had been talking with the U.S. president of this world, along with the head director of the CIA. And even better, was the fact that the conversations between them… were recorded in full. Graves had spent all night listening to every conversation. Discussions of contract orders, targets, times, dates, locations, and most damning enough, discussions of pay and non-disclosure agreements.

Now, recording private phone calls wasn't exactly the smartest move if one didn't want to risk breaking an NDA and causing a massive scandal, but Graves could only assume that the merc that he had killed back then wasn't the head honcho of the company. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been dumb enough to risk having such detailed and incriminating evidence on a personal phone which he carried into combat.

It must have been another employee that was higher up in the company. An employee that was privy to sensitive and private discussions. An employee that must have thought he was slick enough to have dirt on such high standing figures, to use as blackmail material in case the company ever went under in the future. Not exactly the most model employee to ever have in your business, but Graves probably did them a favor with his execution.

What Graves planned on doing next with the phone on the other hand, was most definitely not a favor for them…

"You want a big story? Then here," Graves said, offering the phone to her. She looked down at it curiously for a second, before hesitantly reaching for it. Just as her fingers were less than an inch from making contact with it, Graves pulled it back out of her reach, causing her to look up into his eyes once more. "This phone has everything needed to bring down some very important names. You'll get it, only if you promise to stay out of Shadow Company's business, and not involve us in this matter. Sound good?"

She paused for a moment, and Graves could practically hear the gears slowly turning in her head as she mulled it over. A moment later, a wide smile broke out on her face. "You've got yourself a deal, Commander!" She agreed, before reaching for the phone once more.

"Nuh-uh," He said, holding the phone up higher out of her reach. "What do you promise?"

She blinked up at him before finally sighing in defeat. "I promise to stay out of Shadow Company's business, and not involve the company in this matter…" She parroted in boredom. "There, was that good?"

"Perfect!" Graves said in amused satisfaction, before dropping the phone into her hand. She scrambled to catch it, nearly dropping it against the concrete as it almost fumbled out of her hands.

She gave a sigh of relief as she held it in both hands, before unlocking the device. "So…" She began casually. "What exactly am I gonna find on this thing? I haven't been scammed, have I?"

"It'd be your fault if you didn't check beforehand," Graves commented. "But no, it's far from it. Everything on that phone has enough material for an international scandal that would break the internet."

She raised a brow at him from over the top of the phone. "Oh, I've no doubt about that. But how significant is this scandal truly? Racist remarks over the phone are kind of irrelevant right now, and won't generate the same amount of clicks with the current state of the world."

"Your current U.S. president and the head director of the CIA have been dealing with private mercenaries behind the scenes, and he's sent them to kidnap the Special Region diplomats that are currently visiting. Three members of the JSDF Special Forces Group are dead - alongside two of my own Shadows - on Japanese soil."

...

"... Oh…" She muttered, realization finally dawning on her. Her gaze grew unfocused as her lips pressed into a thin line. "That's… a pretty serious thing to just drop on a girl, Graves…"

"Yeah…" Graves agreed bluntly. "A friendly word of advice… the moment all that info leaks, you'd best stay in the background and keep to yourself… at least until things die down a bit. You might even have to go off the grid for a bit too."

Lila nodded slowly as she gulped. "U-Understood… Thank you for the interview, Commander…" She bowed politely before turning away. "I'll honor our little deal!" She called out over her shoulder, before disappearing into the crowd once more.

"You better!" Graves shouted in response.

As the journalist disappeared from sight, Graves turned back to the altar nearby. Itami knelt next to Rory and the other Special Region inhabitants, while the others could be seen standing a respectable distance away with their hands together, all praying for the departed that had met their untimely demise during the initial invasion. His Shadows could be seen nearby, and though they didn't push any of the mourning victims away, they made sure to act as a buffer between them and the Special Region VIPs - just in case.

That did little to soothe his trepidation. Announcing that you were from the world that butchered civilians in the streets was like announcing that you were from Russia after World War 3. Russophobia was at its highest peak after that.

Wonder if they're gonna make a word for these folk… Graves quietly thought to himself as he looked at Princess Pina.

A lot of curious onlookers had gathered around the area, wanting to see what all the fuss was about, and taking interest by observing what they could from afar. The official response to that was an enormous amount of security having been placed around the entire area as well, with police cordoning off the area around the memorial and making sure that no one interfered with the solemn ritual taking place. They were keeping watch for anything suspicious, but so far, everything seemed to have been going rather smoothly.

Graves stood a respectable distance away, watching the scene in front of him without saying a word. Despite being in the middle of a bustling and very busy city, it seemed as though the sound around him was dulled. The quietness was unnerving, but for reasons he couldn't really explain. Perhaps it was because of the somber atmosphere that surrounded the entire area.

I'll be back before dinner, dear…

The professor wouldn't accept my assignment…

Can we go for ice cream, mommy…?

Graves quickly looked around, trying to spot who the sudden voices belonged to. However, nobody came into sight. After a few moments longer, he decided to give up, shaking his head at his own foolishness.

That was… strange…

He swore he could hear the faint echoes of people talking. And it definitely wasn't from any of the interested spectators, because they were all silent. No… Graves knew that he heard people talking casually, going about their day like normal. Yet, none of those conversations seemed to come from anywhere around where he was standing.

He shook his head again, forcing a light chuckle from his lips.

What the hell…? Am I finally losing my mind or something? Graves silently laughed to himself. When he really thought about it, it wasn't as humorous as he wanted it to be... He considered himself to be of sound mind, despite all the complications that came with such a bleak occupation. So when he started hearing disembodied voices - especially unfamiliar ones speaking Japanese - it was certainly unexpected.

He'd say that, maybe it was just the stress getting to him. But after about a minute, the voices seemed to return, and didn't seem intent on stopping anytime soon. In fact, they only seemed to grow more frequent and louder - more panicked and scared. The echoes eventually became illegible, constantly blending into each other as they overlapped, wanting to be heard. Graves scrunched his face up, grimacing from the barrage of sound. Glancing around, he could see that the rest of his Shadows were also beginning to grow disorientated, likely going through the same thing he was. Unlike everyone else around, who seemed to be unaware of the discord in the air.

Graves shut his eyes tight as he pinched the bridge of his nose, the effects of the constant noise becoming too much for him to handle. It was beginning to suffocate him. Just when he thought that it wouldn't end, the hysterical voices rose to a deafening crescendo, before finally…

Peace…

The calming chime of the station bell had rung nearby, instantly silencing the loud cries that he could still hear echoing within his mind. Graves' eyes snapped open, and he immediately gasped, greedily sucking in as much air as he could. He didn't have to imagine how pale he looked, because he felt pale. He swallowed, holding his rifle tight in an attempt to control the intense trembling that his body was currently experiencing as he frantically looked around.

"Fuck!" Graves hissed quietly to himself. He couldn't say that he expected any supernatural occurrences when he originally shook hands with Count Formal back in that interrogation room. Otherwise, he might have hoped to pass the headache he just experienced onto somebody else.

Luckily, the ringing of the bell was somehow enough to return the perfect clarity that Graves had earlier. He looked up at the clock tower, seeing a flock of pigeons flutter by the small hand, which was now pointed directly at 2 o'clock. Right on time, just as they had planned.

He turned his attention back to the altar, seeing that everyone was no longer praying on their knees. Instead, they were now back up on their feet, with Rory giving some closing remarks.

Vale's voice came through the radio a moment later. "Graves! What the hell was that?! What just happened to us?!" The leader of Bishop squad asked.

Graves frowned, shaking his head slightly before responding. "I don't know, Vale," He answered, before his vision settled on the back of Rory's head. "But I've got a feeling that our little black and red oracle is partly responsible for it. Maintain security, I'll handle her." He said, already making his way over.

"Copy."

Graves didn't bother wasting any time when marching up to Rory, immediately grabbing her by the arm as he approached her. Itami was about to ask what was wrong, before Graves sent him a harsh glare, immediately stopping him in his tracks. Graves tugged her arm, pulling her around to fully face him before he spoke. It was gentle enough for the cameras, but still rough enough to tell her that he was getting serious.

Despite that, Rory was still Rory, and the girl seemed pretty much unfazed by his act of assertiveness. She glanced down at the gloved hand gripping her arm with a smirk, before looking up at him with half lidded eyes. "My oh my… Getting physical now are we, Graves? you're quite a bold man, aren't you?" She cooed in a playful tone.

"Ugh, not this again… Cut the bullshit, Rory!" Graves snarled lowly as he tightened his grip on the woman's arm. "You wanna tell me what in the hell you just did to me and my Shadows?"

Rory raised an amused brow at his question, before letting out a soft chuckle and shrugging nonchalantly, her smirk never once faltering. She didn't seem worried in the slightest about his harsh tone, but rather entertained instead. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to be more specific than that, Graves."

"Don't play coy with me!" He said, finally letting go of her arm. "The overwhelming voices, the oppressive air, we felt it! So I'm only gonna ask you this one more time. What. The hell. Was that?" He demanded more forcefully, his glare intensifying even more.

"Hmm, well if you insist…" She said, her tone seemingly lacking any kind of malice towards him. Though there was still plenty of mirth in her voice, however. "What you and your Shadows just heard was the souls of the departed. People who had lost their lives on these streets and then lingered around the memorial… As you can imagine, it's quite difficult to get them to settle down, especially after death."

"Dead spirits?" He asked, taken aback. This was not something he expected to deal with when entering another world, and frankly, was pretty unnatural. Although, knowing Rory and the extremely abnormal life she leads, he shouldn't have been surprised.

"Yes," she said in reply to his previous question. "They can become quite troublesome around the living, especially if there's still things that they had wanted to do. Crying, screaming, and wailing - those sorts of sounds that you and the others heard… they get quite loud. If you haven't noticed already, they can be quite powerful as well…" She explained, planting her halberd against the ground to lean against.

"And why were only me and my Shadows affected?"

"Oh?" Rory asked in faux confusion. "Didn't I make it clear to you before we entered Japan?"

His brow slowly furrowed once more. "What do you…" He paused, stilling as realization hit him. He recalled their previous conversation, back at FOB Alnus Hill, before they entered the gate.

"The aura of death… it emanates from you, just like it does me." She confirmed easily, restating the words she muttered to him back in the Special Region with a smirk still on her face. She laughed to herself, seeing his dumbfounded expression. "Being a demigoddess and an apostle to Emroy has its perks, you know? Oh but don't worry, that experience you just had was but a small taste of what I go through every once in a while. A one off, if you will."

"You better be telling the truth," Graves said, rebuking her for the supernatural event. "Sensory overload and messin' around with the human mind ain't exactly the most respectable action…"

"Rest assured, this won't be a common occurrence for you and your Shadows, otherwise, you'd have all gone crazy long ago." Rory said with a small giggle. After a moment, she looked to be in thoughtful consideration before continuing on. "Though I have to admit, I didn't think that it'd be possible or for it to affect you all so strongly..." She added under her breath. After a few seconds, though, her smile returned, and she shrugged carelessly, dismissing whatever she had thought about. "Well, regardless… Now that you're aware of it, I'm sure that you're eager to leave now."

Rory gestured toward the bouquet of flowers that rested alongside the others on the altar. Graves heard as Princess Pina and Bozes stood beside him, and the refugees under Itami's care did the same with him.

"Yeah, so long as we don't experience any more-"

"Excuse me?"

"Interruptions…"

Graves gave an exasperated sigh once more, his gaze looking over Rory's shoulder to see who had interrupted their conversation. He was met with the sight of a woman dressed in all black, whose dark blue eyes bore into him with sorrow, pain, and grief. Her short black hair was slightly unkempt, and old tear streaks were clear on her face, as if she didn't put her all into looking presentable today. Not too surprising, as it was a very common look that he had seen throughout his career all around the globe.

What was surprising was the little girl standing next to her, holding her hand. She was wearing a dark colored dress that seemed to fit the mourning style of the woman, though the frills at the end of her skirt were white instead. She looked extremely similar, except she had braided twin tails tied up with blue bows, and rather than having a solemn look in her eyes, she instead had one of naive curiosity. Naive curiosity that was directed up at him and Rory. If Graves had to guess, the little girl was the daughter of this weeping widow in front of them.

He couldn't help but smile gently down at the little girl, taking note of the resemblance between her features and her mother's, as well as her innocent demeanor. She noticed him looking, before squeaking and shuffling behind her mother. Graves chuckled to himself, before returning his focus to the woman in front of him.

"Can I help you, ma'am…?"

"I apologize for interrupting," The woman said, her words slightly hesitant as she continued speaking. "My name is Mikami Sayuri, and this is my daughter, Mikami Masumi."

The little girl gave a tiny wave with her free hand, and Graves watched as Itami's eyes lit up in recognition of the two, before he stood just a little bit taller. "Ah, Mikami-san, it's good to see you again." He said with a small bow.

The woman greeted him back with a tired smile. "Likewise, Itami-san… though I wish it were under better circumstances…" She trailed off, gaining a distant look in her eyes.

"Right…" Itami said, swallowing nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Graves raised a brow up at him, before gesturing to the family of two. "You know these folks, Itami?"

"Of course," Itami confirmed. "I helped reunite Mikami-san with her daughter during the initial invasion of Ginza. They got separated when all the chaos broke out, and I found Masumi all by her lonesome."

"And I'm forever grateful for your help, Itami." The widow said with an obvious tinge of sadness present in her voice. She glanced at the altar, letting out a weak laugh as her eyes became unfocused while she reminisced. "It seems that a lot has changed in the world since that fateful day, huh?"

"No kidding…" Uttered Itami. "Portal gates… alternate worlds… dragons…"

Sayuri shook her head with a weary sigh. "Politics… the same old politics, no different than ever…" She shook her head, giving him a somewhat apologetic look, before setting her sights on Rory. "Regardless, I'm not here to discuss such matters."

Itami glanced back at Rory, who merely tilted her head in response. Itami then cringed, likely realizing that the widow may have had some choice words for the demigoddess. "Ah, I suppose you must have heard the news then?"

"I'd be surprised if I didn't. The information was spread online rather quickly." She said, never once taking her eyes off of Rory.

"Then… what are you doing here…?"

"Our family was… never really the religious sort... But ever since I lost my husband and son… I've been praying on my knees to whatever figures up above that we could see them again. To be a whole family once more…" She said, taking a pause to breathe and stifle the tears that threatened to come out. Though tears weren't spilt yet, Graves didn't need to see them when he could clearly hear the raw emotion in her voice. "I had heard online that inhabitants from the Special Region had arrived, and like many others, I saw the Diet broadcast. I watched it, and… and I wanted to be mad at everyone. I wanted someone to just… let out my frustrations on. Someone to scream at, to curse, and to blame. And how could I not? Half of my family is gone, and it felt like no one cared enough to bring the one's responsible to justice yet."

Graves nodded, clearly understanding where her strife came from. From what little he could gather so far, instead of blitzing through Falmart to capture the emperor, it appeared that the JSDF were playing the long game, slowly winning hearts and minds in the Special Region. With that being known, making a bigger scene wouldn't solve anything right now. "Is that why you're here?"

"Originally, it was," Sayuri confirmed with a disappointed sigh. "When I saw the leak that they'd be offering flowers to the memorial, it felt like I was being mocked, and I had to see them for myself. But… seeing the genuine respect and prayers from a demigoddess made me realize, I was blaming the wrong people. I should be blaming the ones that squabble in petty politics behind a fancy polished desk, or the man who ordered the invasion in the first place, rather than blaming the innocent guests here trying to make things right."

Princess Pina somberly looked down at her shoes while fiddling with the hem of her dress, and Graves could see the little girl nearby looking up at her with awe in her eyes. He rolled his eyes, bringing up his left hand to adjust one of the shoulder straps of his vest. "Well, as heartwarming as this moment is and all, me and my company would like to get back to business as soon as possible. So if you'll excuse us, ma'am…" Graves finished, getting ready to move away from the scene with Rory and the others.

"Wait!" Sayuri shouted, causing him to pause and glance over his shoulder. He could see the widow staring at Rory with a look of uncertainty on her face. "I just… I couldn't help but overhear what Miss Mercury had said about the souls of the departed. It… sounded quite alarming, and if any of that was true, then I have to ask… My husband and my son… are they at rest now? Are they at peace?"

After a moment, Graves turned around once more, facing the widow completely. She looked desperate, wanting a definitive answer from the only one who could possibly give it to her. Judging by the downtrodden look on Itami's face, the "Savior of Ginza'' didn't appear to have any satisfactory answers, as he kept quietly to himself.

Rory on the other hand, took a few steps forward, before putting a hand on her shoulder and closing her eyes. For a few seconds, a thoughtful look appeared on her face as she said nothing, before finally, she opened her eyes once more. The demigoddess looked directly into the eyes of the weeping widow, as dark blue searched crimson red for an answer. After a moment, Rory gave her the answer.

"No."

The answer was plain, simple, blunt and far from benign; painfully so, and to Graves, it wasn't really the best one at all. It was the kind of answer one gave to the media when they didn't want to be bothered, not to a grieving single mother. Was having no tact just part of becoming a demigod?

The widow paused, looking quite taken aback by the answer. The desperate look on her face had vanished, instead being replaced with one of pained acceptance. She looked like she wanted to say something else, her lips moving almost imperceptibly, but her words seemed to fail her for the time being. Regardless, she took the truth rather stoically, - all things considered - nodding her head once in understanding as she did so.

"I see… Well, thank you anyways, for taking the time to answer me face to face." She said with a small bow. "I suppose I can do little else but accept their loss as is-"

Rory hid a smile behind her palm as she softly chuckled, abruptly cutting Sayuri off. "No, it appears you misunderstand me, dear. Your husband or your son are not at rest or at peace… because they're not dead."

Her words caused the widow's jaw to drop slightly as the full weight of them finally dawned on her. "W-Wait… what?!" She asked in disbelief, tears of relief beginning to spill from the corner of her eyes as a glimmer of hope returned.

Rory smiled softly, before placing a hand on Sayuri's cheek and wiping away the tears. "They aren't dead," She repeated. "They're most certainly still alive."

Sayuri stared back at her silently, expression unreadable. Her mouth twitched several times before she managed to choke her words out. "How… How is that possible? How can you tell?"

"I'm a demigoddess, aren't I?" Rory asked rhetorically, reminding her with a serene smile on her face. "I can sense the connection between their life force and yours. It's faint, but I can still sense it."

Ah, good. She wasn't just saying that to deliver some false hope. Though that might have meant that Graves had another problem on his hands in the near future...

"Where?" Sayuri asked desperately, grasping for the lifeline that Rory was dangling in front of her.

Rory turned to look towards the checkpoint as she slowly pointed a finger at it, causing everyone else to look at where she pointed. Behind the line of police and soldiers, behind the security shutters, and behind the dome was the gate. The portal that led to the Special Region. And she was pointing straight at it…

"There…" She said gently.

"The gate…" Sayuri breathed out. "My family, they're in the Special Region!" Sayuri let go of her daughter's hand, before grabbing Rory by the shoulders and holding her tightly as she began pleading with her. "Miss Mercury, please, you have to make sure the rest of my family is okay!"

Her words echoed throughout the street with such intensity, it even caught the attention of guards and reporters alike. The crowd focused their attention towards the scene, looking at the commotion with confusion as curious whispers broke out. They simply watched the scene unfold, unsure of what exactly to make of the situation. A couple of nosy reporters even tried to move a little closer or get a better angle, only for the security around them to block them off.

The rest of the Shadows eyed the scene warily, however, Sayuri couldn't care less. She didn't seem to care much about anything anymore, except for the fact that her family was somehow still alive in the Special Region. That her husband and son were stuck somewhere inside, and probably had been since the very start of it all.

Graves stepped in between the two, doing his best to peel the mother off of Rory. "Mrs. Mikami, I understand that this unexpected revelation is extremely overwhelming for you right now. However, I'm gonna need you to calm down and relax for me." His eyes met Itami's, silently asking for help.

Itami looked up from the confused child, before obliging with a nod and putting a hand on Sayuri's shoulder. "Makima-san, please, breathe for me." He said gently.

The woman looked up at him, still trembling slightly before complying with his request. After a few moments of steady breathing, the tremors ceased, her shaking gradually subsiding to a stop. When everything eventually calmed down for her, Sayuri finally found it within herself to turn her gaze back to the entrance to the special region, where the other half of her family was apparently waiting.

"Are you okay, Makima-san?" Itami asked.

She blinked twice before turning her head back to the man who addressed her. Itami was giving her a concerned stare, while her daughter was looking up at her with apprehension. Sayuri quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts, before apologizing to them.

"Ah, please forgive me for my reaction," She said, red in embarrassment as she bowed forward slightly. She reached for her daughter's hand again, rubbing her thumb gently against her knuckles. "But you must understand, Lieutenant Itami. If my family is truly still alive - like Miss Mercury said - and in the world beyond the gate, then something must be done to bring them back safely."

Itami cringed, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I understand that, Makima-san, but we have no idea where exactly your family could be. The Special Region is still largely unexplored, and it's gonna take quite a bit of investigation before we even get a hint of some sort of trail. And that's even if I get approval from the higher ups above my station."

"A-Approval?!" Sayuri asked incredulously. She looked greatly appalled, shaking in disbelief, before closing her eyes and taking another deep breath. After a moment, she exhaled, slowly opening them back up again with a determined look. "Lieutenant Itami, with all due respect, I know the JSDF outnumbers and overpowers the enemy beyond the gate. If my sweet son or husband are indeed still alive within the Special Region, which I now know they are, then they are most definitely being held by the enemy. I am begging you, please! I just want to see them again, to hold them, to kiss them!"

Graves watched as Itami put a comforting hand on Sayuri's back, rubbing soothing circles while looking deeply sympathetic toward the distraught mother. He handed her a clean handkerchief from his coat pocket, giving a deep sigh as he thought about the best way to respond. After about ten seconds, Itami came up with nothing.

Nothing good anyway…

"I'm sorry Makima-san, but we can't just send in the cavalry. These things take planning and preparation. And by then… it might be too late…"

"Then… that's it? I discover that the rest of my family is alive and there's nothing else you can do to get them back?" Sayuri asked in desperation.

Itami cringed, scratching the back of his head in unease. "Unfortunately, it's not up to me. All I can guarantee you is that I'll bring it up with my superiors. The rest is ultimately up to them…"

"Red tape bureaucracy…" Graves muttered quietly from the sidelines.

Her strength quickly faded when she realized just how futile her efforts were in asking for help. Eventually, she forced herself to nod in reluctant acceptance. "Then… in that case… Thank you, for everything..." She said softly.

...

Before her head whipped over to Graves, and Graves could spot a newfound sense of resolve on her face.

"Commander Graves, you and your contractors are firmly planted within the Special Region with a base of your own, am I correct?"

Graves cocked a brow up at the rather abrupt shift in tone. He glanced over at Itami for an answer, only to find that the man was similarly - if not more - caught off guard. It seemed like Itami didn't really know much about the woman either, because despite clearly having interacted with her before, the worry on his face showed that he had never seen this side of her before.

"Well at the moment, I wouldn't call it a base. It's more of a…" He trailed off, racking his brain in an attempt to find the most suitable words. "Sizable… covert facility. But yes, ma'am. Shadow Company is indeed currently conducting operations beyond the gate."

Apparently appeased, she nodded at him, before turning back to Itami.

"Uh… Makima-san?" Itami asked cautiously with a nervous laugh. "What was that all about?"

"I am… truly… sorry, Lieutenant Itami," Sayuri replied sincerely, offering him a melancholy smile alongside an honest apology. Graves could see her gently squeezing her daughter's hand, either in an effort to comfort herself, or the little girl. "I mean no offense to you or your team, but… what Commander Graves said back at the Diet was right. Public sector, civil servants, can't do their jobs properly."

"I'm... uh, afraid I still don't understand…" Itami said with furrowed brows.

"Respectfully, Lieutenant Itami, I will not just sit back and wait for the politicians to give the greenlight, knowing that my own blood is out there." She clarified for him. The next question out of her mouth was directed at Graves, and all but confirmed his growing suspicions. "You said you can cut through the red tape, right? Then please… cut through it and bring my family back."

Graves quirked his brow up at her, before eyeing the others to see their reactions. The members of the JSDF could be seen glancing at each other, unsure of how to react to one of their own citizens outsourcing their job to a private company right in front of them. Kuribayashi went to speak up in protest

"Seriously? You can't honestly expect these guys to-" Itami immediately waved her down with his hand, cutting her off mid-sentence. She looked up at him in disbelief, before turning to Tomita for assistance. Unfortunately, her other teammate wasn't in agreement with her either, as Tomita simply closed his eyes and shook his head. Brown eyes looked at him critically, before she crossed her arms with a harrumph.

Graves mulled it over for a second, before clicking his tongue. "Listen…" He began, already having prepped the words to let her down as easy as he could. "It's true that I've got some informants that could give me a few leads regarding your missing family, and that my Shadow Company is more than equipped to help you find them. But like I've stated before, we're already conducting operations within the Special Region. To shift focus away from that would be… costly… if you catch my drift?"

"Five hundred thousand," She said in an absolutely resolute tone. Graves stared at her in pleasant surprise, watching as she took a steadying breath and restated her offer once more. "Five hundred thousand each for my husband and my son respectively. That's one million if you get them both. I can do Yen, or if you'd prefer, I could do it all in U.S. dollars. I have the money for it."

Graves blinked a few times, trying to fully digest her proposition, before breaking into a light chuckle. He gave an impressed whistle in the middle of it, as his chuckle steadily increased in volume. It didn't take long for the spectators - and even some of his own Shadows - gathered around to look at him in concern as his laughter continued. Eventually though, he was able to get himself back under control as his laughter subsided, clearing his throat enough before speaking up.

"One million dollars… wow! That's a whole lot of love for two people. Color me surprised, Mrs. Makima! I had no idea you had such money under your sleeve! Let me guess… inherited wealth?"

The mother gave him a flat look, confirming his guess with a small sigh and a nod. "Where the money comes from really doesn't matter to you now, does it, Commander?"

"Hmmm, well it depends on the situation, but no, I suppose not…" Graves mumbled, tapping his chin in contemplation. He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, before waving her closer. She furrowed her brows before stepping forward. "Hold out your hand." Graves requested.

"Um… might I ask, what for?" She asked, already holding it out, albeit rather hesitantly.

Graves took a black marker out from his waist pack, before popping the cap off and writing on the palm of her hand. He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he focused on finishing up. "That…" He said, pointing towards her freshly marked hand as he put the marker away. "Is the number to a secure and encrypted line, along with the necessary passcode. It's for your eyes only. We'll discuss the terms of the contract further once me and my Shadows are properly situated back in the SR."

"S… R?" She asked slowly, attention still on the writing on her palm.

"Special Region." Graves clarified with another nod. "Unfortunately, this is all we've got time for right now. Me and my Shadows have got to get back to work."

"Of course, Commander. Thank you for your time…" She said, giving a respectful bow, before straightening herself up and leaving with her daughter.

The little girl looked over her shoulder, before giving Itami a wave goodbye. Despite the situation clearly taking a lot of energy out of him, Itami still returned the wave with a tired smile. Once they were far enough away, Itami rubbed his forehead for a second, before letting his arm drop to his side. His expression turned pensive as he stared at their retreating forms.

"C'mon, let's go!" Graves urged on, already leading the way. He wanted to be out of there as soon as possible, especially considering how much more the media got out of the situation then they'd probably hoped for.

Pina, Bozes, and his Shadows immediately complied, following behind them; Itami and the rest quickly fell into step behind them without a word.

As they approached the checkpoint, one of the MPs from the garrison currently stationed at Ginza saw them from behind the line of police shields, before telling the officer next to him who was approaching. In response, the officer gave a short nod, before barking an order out to the rest of the shield line to create an opening and allow them passage. Two of the riot shields stood aside, allowing the group to funnel through safely. The MP even gave the group a salute as they passed by, one that Graves obviously didn't return or acknowledge as he simply ignored him and kept walking.

The checkpoint doors slowly raised, as the crowd could be heard in the background, obviously trying to get in some last minute pictures or questions that they wouldn't answer. Once everyone had entered, the barricades lowered again, sealing them off from the crowd nearby.

Graves could hear Princess Pina breathe a sigh of relief, before leaning her head against a nearby wall as she closed her eyes. "Oh thank goodness," She said, before opening her eyes and looking up at the sky above.

Graves gave a small laugh of amusement. "Not a fan of crowds, I presume?"

The Princess nodded her head in response. "I wish it wasn't quite that. I'm used to sizable formations, having done honor guard for my father beforehand. Standard parades and ceremonies… But, a crowd that large was certainly a little… suffocating…" She confessed.

Graves put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Well, you don't have to worry about that much longer. We're in the homestretch now."

"Home… stretch?" Pina asked quietly as she tilted her head curiously at him.

"Right…" Graves trailed off, remembering that a lot of the sayings he was used to probably weren't well known by ancient Romans from another world. He turned back, finding that Itami and the others were putting their bags on the inspection tables.

"Come on Lieutenant, can't I keep it with me?" Kuribayashi begged her superior. She held the MP7 that she carried with her close to her body, not wanting to be separated from it.

"Sure," Itami shrugged, putting his bags onto the table as another MP looked in. The soldiers whispered to each other curiously as they kept finding gun after gun. "If you can constantly find the right ammo for it in our inventory."

"But we don't carry ammo for MP7s..."

"Exactly."

Graves rolled his eyes at the scene, before turning back to the Princess and her knight. "They just need for you two to go through the standard screening like the others, then we can cross the gate again."

"The screening?" Bozes asked, following closely behind as Pina stepped away from the wall and walked alongside him. "I'm not quite certain that I understand. Could you elaborate on what exactly that entails?"

"They'll scan you with a metal detecting device to make sure that you aren't carrying any contraband on you." Graves explained to them.

"Contraband?"

"Yeah, like weapons, drugs, or water bottles filled over three ounces." That last one was thrown in as a joke, more for his amusement rather then hers. The brief confusion in her eyes was certainly funny to see. "Once everything's been cleared, and you haven't been stopped for a pat down, they'll give us permission to leave."

"Ah… I see…" Princess Pina said, nodding somewhat nervously for some reason. As they arrived at the metal detector, Graves could see the redhead eyeing the approaching MPs with a bit of trepidation. Her shoulders tensed up slightly as the soldier told her to stretch her arms out, before he began running the handheld metal detector along her body. Like Graves, his brows went up in surprise the moment it went off over the zipped up pocket of her jacket.

"Is there anything on your person that I should be made aware of, ma'am?" The soldier asked, looking up at her.

Pina hesitated for a moment, before shaking her head. She briefly glanced behind her, meeting Graves' questioning gaze, before swallowing hard and saying, "I… I don't believe so…"

"Well, I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to search you anyway." The soldier responded firmly.

Graves couldn't help but notice the slight panic in the woman's eyes as the soldier began a more thorough search, her breathing picking up noticeably when his hand got closer to her. She swallowed, closing her eyes and forcing herself to take deep breaths as he reached for her pocket. It was obvious that the Princess had taken something with her, and he didn't know about it until now. It also must have been something pretty risky for her to have been reacting like this.

Jesus Christ… the things I do in this line of work…

"That won't be necessary there, soldier!" Graves announced, interrupting him and causing everyone to turn and look at him in surprise.

The soldier paused, before giving him a curious glance, clearly wondering why he would interject. "Standard procedure, sir. I'm just following orders."

"I know, and I appreciate a man who follows orders without question." Graves said with a smirk, using his confident charm as he stepped up to them. "But you're willing to put your hands on a woman, without even askin' for her consent. That's a bit perverted, dontcha think?"

At Graves' accusation and his pointed look, the soldier slightly shrunk in on himself. He cleared his throat, regaining a small bit of his confidence as he remembered his status. "I assure you that my intentions are not at all close to that. However, I still have a job to do."

"Fine then… Princess," He said, getting her attention. "Would you allow me to search you?"

Pina blinked twice, opening her mouth to object, before the reassuring wink he sent her after was enough to make her pause. Graves had no intention of blowing this situation out of proportion more than it already was from his intervention. She gave him a smile, grateful for the out. "Of course." She agreed without trouble.

With her permission, Graves unzipped her pocket, trying his best to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. When his hand finally made contact with the inside of Pina's jacket, he had to suppress the exasperated groan that threatened to come out. The object he felt was very familiar and very obvious to anyone with his life experience. Making sure that he had a proper hold of it, Graves pulled it out as carefully as he could, all the while ignoring the startled looks he got from the soldiers surrounding them.

In his hand was an MP-443 Grach. A standard issue, all black, service pistol, given to all branches of the Russian military. For when outdated Makarovs just wouldn't cut it anymore. And apparently, also for ancient era, Roman Empire, fantasy Princesses that wanted to export weapons back into their world.

Bozes raised a curious brow at the pistol. "Is that…?" Bozes began to ask.

Graves cleared his throat, interrupting her and hoping to convey just how serious this situation actually was to the Princess. "That is indeed a dangerous weapon. The very same one that I... gave... to Princess Pina after Hakone. So that she could defend herself, right?" He said, purposefully looking at the Princess with a strained smile. The same kind of smile that meant that there would be a later discussion about her attempted act of smuggling.

As Graves went about safely clearing the gun, Princess Pina gave him an apologetic smile in return. "Y-Yes, for… for self defense…" She agreed, her eyes flickering between Graves, the soldier, and the empty gun he was handing him.

The Japanese soldier clearly didn't believe the pathetically thin excuse, but respectfully - and wisely - chose not to say anything, on account of Graves stepping in for her. The soldier went in to scan her with the wand again, the device not beeping this time around.

"She's clear." The soldier said, before gesturing for Bozes to step forward and go through the same. "Does she have anything that I should be made aware of?"

Graves looked at the Princess for an answer, which was thankfully, a definite no. Good thing too. The last thing Graves wanted was any more surprises right at the end. The trip was absolutely exhausting, and it appeared that Itami thought the same too, judging by the way he slumped against the wall and sat on the sidewalk with the refugees.

"Graves," The voice of Carnival's squad leader spoke up from the radio. "Vehicles are topped off and ready to go."

Perfect timing, as not a moment later, the doors in front of the gate slid open. A Humvee in the JSDFs signature green rolled out, before coming to a stop as the driver emerged from within.

The young soldier snapped to a salute, before realizing the state of which his superior was in. "Wow, you look absolutely miserable, sir."

"Oh be quiet, Kurata!" Itami barked back tiredly without any real bite. "I'd like to see you go through what we did these past few days…"

Graves turned away from the scene, returning his attention to the gate as he answered the radio on his vest. "Perfect. All Shadow stations, we're done here. Now let's get the hell out of Japan…"

---

Author's Notes:

Graves leaks a major political scandal to a nosy investigative journalist, Rory's demigoddess abilities affect Shadow Company a bit, a desperate mother contracts a private military to do Japan's job, and Princess Pina gets caught trying to smuggle a gun back to her Empire.

Not much happened, and yet, a lot happened…

Itami didn't really protest to the fact that Shadow Company was contracted on the spot in front of him, but he just didn't have the heart to, especially after seeing how fierce the determination of a loving mother truly is. I know it seems a little OOC for Itami to not immediately step in and offer to help the families of the Ginza incident, but the most he really could do right now would be to bring it up to his superiors.

With that being said, I know originally in Gate, the mood of the Japanese immediately shifted to "Hey, this is pretty serious. We need to start showing force in order to get our innocent citizens out of slavery." the moment they found out about it. Itami still believes this, and clearly wants to help in any way that he can. However, I'm gonna have bureaucracy slow that down a bit.

Why?

Some things have to change for the direction I want to take this story. Some changes have been minor, obviously, and some more drastic. But all of it is essentially focused on putting the spotlight on Shadow Company. Vale is the first Shadow that we read about in the first chapter, so I still like to think of him as the protagonist. I know it seems like he's the least developed Shadow in terms of character right now, but he's like the driver seat for us to experience how Shadow Company is operating in another world from the eyes of one of its own.

Kind of like some of the older campaign player characters, except less mute.

Graves is more like the deuteragonist, because he's the leader of Shadow Company who makes all the orders that Vale has to carry out. And Itami is the tritagonist, being the most prominently appearing character related to the JSDF, who Shadow Company might be at odds with sometimes throughout the story.

Especially in the future...

---

BONUS OMAKE:

---

Itami stretched his back, letting out a groan as stepped into his work office.

"Oh man… I am absolutely beat…" He mumbled to himself, before glancing at the clock on the wall. It was 8 o'clock… in the morning. Meaning he still had a full day's worth of work ahead of him. He gave a tired sigh, running a hand down his face. He just wanted to drop dead in his bed now, rather than later. "I guess I should make some coffee or something…"

Before that though, he'd make himself comfortable at least. He dug his hand into his coat pockets, being sure to empty them before he hung it up nearby.

Phone… keys… wallet… aid money…

...

Aid money…

After a couple of seconds he felt nothing. Must not have been in that pocket.

He reached his other hand into the opposite pocket, furrowing his brows when he still couldn't find what it was that he was looking for.

He swiftly took off the bag strapped over his shoulder, before putting it down on the table in front of him. His searching became more and more frantic with every pocket that he dug through, before he finally gave up and turned the bag over, dumping all of its contents out and spilling it everywhere. Paper documents, books, and pens all scattered everywhere, decorating the desk and floors with a new messy look.

The sense of dread that was building up eventually led to the look of horror that marred his expression. Itami dropped the bag, before falling back in the office chair as it rolled back slightly. He stared up at the ceiling tiles and the buzzing lamps overhead, before gripping his hair.

Where's all the money that Yanagida gave me?!

-O-

"Take care, Risa." Itami said, offering the panicked girl an easy smile.

"You too…" She trailed off, glancing to the side.

As she watched her ex walk off to go and do his job, she couldn't help but feel a sense of longing once more. A longing for the old days, where two like minded Otakus could just live together simply and care for each other. She gave a sad sigh, pressing her lips into a thin line.

I guess it's back to being a lonely mangaka again…

A throat clearing nearby drew her attention, causing her to turn to her left. Leaning against the side of the van was Bristol, who appeared to be giving her a mischievous smirk for some reason. She could see the other contractors getting out of the other vans and moving past the stopped traffic to catch up with Rory.

Vale glanced at the two before slowing to a halt, expression unreadable under his goggles as he stared at them. "Make it quick, We've still got a job to do." He said after a few seconds, causing Bristol to roll his eyes as his squad leader walked away.

"Well, you heard the man," Bristol said with a small chuckle. "I don't got long, so I'll make it brief."

The Brit reached a hand down, ripping open one of his velcro pockets before pulling out a small envelope. Risa looked at it curiously, before he handed it to her. She held it in her hands for a moment, feeling what appeared to be paper on the inside. She flipped it over, before her eyes widened into saucers as she read the label and recognized what it was exactly that she had.

'AID MONEY : YOJI ITAMI'

"H-How did you manage to get your hands on this?!" She asked after shaking herself out of her stupor.

"I told ya that I'd talk to Itami about it, didn't I?" He responded, shooting her a sly grin. She wasn't entirely convinced, but she'd let it slide. For now, anyways… "Regardless, I'm afraid this is where we part ways." He said hurriedly.

Risa looked downtrodden at the reminder, somberly looking down at his boots.

"Hey, hey, none of that! Chin up," He said, bringing her face back up to meet his eyes. "Suits ya better that way."

"But, you're gonna be gone when you cross the gate, and then I'll have no one to talk to... again…"

A knowing look crossed his eyes as he began stepping away. "Ah, don't worry about that, Risa. This won't be the last time we see each other. We'll be staying in touch quite a lot, I promise."

Her brows furrowed in confusion as he got further away. "What? How?!"

"Check the envelope!" He shouted over his shoulder in response, not bothering to turn around.

Risa watched as the man disappeared, blending into the blob that was the busy crowd. She stared for a few more seconds, vision lingering on where he once was, before heaving out a tired sigh and slumping back down into the driver's seat. She leaned back into the headrest, glancing at the vehicle in front of her which had yet to move any further. The rearview mirror also showed the empty vans behind her, which would no doubt block traffic even more without any drivers to steer them away. Figuring that she had the time, she peeled open the envelope again, before reaching her hand in. Her slim appendages slipped in easily, allowing her to grab all the contents inside.

She nearly dropped it all once she realized how much Itami had left with her…

As she stared at the huge stack of Yen in her hands, a small folded slip of paper fell out, before gently floating down into her lap. She picked it up, before gingerly unfolding. The 3x5 inch paper had lines arranged in a grid pattern, and the spiral rips at the top told her that the sheet was taken from a small notepad of some sort. All in all, it was simple, and not really noteworthy.

What was noteworthy was the phone number that was written in bold marker which sat in the middle of the page…